Latest / Football Junkies podcast / Ep.85: GUT CHECK TRAINING CAMP EDITION (AFC/NFC NORTH EDITION)

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Ep.85: GUT CHECK TRAINING CAMP EDITION (AFC/NFC NORTH EDITION) · Football Junkies podcast

0:03
Triple bag alert, triple bag alert, triple bag
0:05
alert, folks. That's right. Garrett Wilson gets
0:07
paid. Trey Smith resets the guard market. Sauce
0:10
Garner resets the cornerback market. Terry McLaurin
0:13
speaks out. Juan Jennings gives the 49ers an
0:16
ultimatum. The NFLPA backs the league executive.
0:19
Why? I don't know. Why has only two second round
0:22
picks signed their rookie deals? TJ Wattrade,
0:25
question mark? Maybe. And we got to do gut check
0:28
time. That's right, folks. Gut check time. But
0:31
this time we're doing it a little bit different.
0:33
We're doing training camp edition. And we're
0:35
not just doing just one division. We're doing
0:37
two divisions. That's right. AFC North, NFC North.
0:41
So guess what? You already know my spell. So
0:43
guess what? This is the 85th episode of the Football
0:46
Junkies podcast. All right. I am your host with
0:48
the most. I am your chief, Bagroll Adamas. That's
0:51
right. Chief, head of the table. Anything and
0:54
everything related to the bag. Rumors to the
0:56
bag. bag and more. But guess what? I am your
0:58
chief RSS affiliate. I am your GM who currently
1:01
is not on the team right now. But don't you worry
1:04
about it, okay? Don't you worry about it because
1:06
guess what? I am all these things and more. But
1:09
most importantly, the most important thing that
1:11
you must remember is I am your host, Kale. You
1:14
already know how things are about to go. So guess
1:15
what? If you have something that you have to
1:18
do. You got to clean your room. You got to clean
1:20
the house. Got to clean the bathroom. Whatever
1:22
you got to do. Guess what? This is the episode
1:25
to listen to because guess what? This episode
1:27
is full of twists, turns, hot takes, truth bombs,
1:30
and more. So guess what? On three. One, two,
1:32
three. Let's lock in. Right folks, let's just
2:00
get into the meat and potatoes of everything
2:02
that is going on in the league right now. And
2:03
man, is there a lot of stuff going on in the
2:05
league right now. For some teams, they've already
2:09
started training camp. For others, I think they
2:12
start either today, tomorrow, or next week. Depends
2:16
on the team. We're not worried about that, okay?
2:18
Because we got bag alerts, all right? We got
2:19
triple bag alerts to talk about, all right? So
2:22
let's start things with Sauce Gardner, okay?
2:24
So Sauce Gardner inks a four -year, $120 .4 million
2:28
deal, $60 million guarantee, and he'll be making
2:31
$30 .1 million a year. When we look at his stats
2:34
from this past season, 49 tackles, one sack.
2:37
He was targeted 51 times for 28 receptions, allowed
2:40
454 yards, one touchdown, and had one pick. Now
2:44
here is a... A junkie nugget that definitely
2:47
caught my attention that I just had to bring
2:49
it up. So this is according to Zach Rosenblatt
2:53
on X. So from 2011 through 2022, the Jets only
2:58
signed one first round pick to a second contract.
3:01
And that was Muhammad Wilkinson. Since then,
3:04
Quinton Williams in 2023, they re -signed him.
3:07
Garrett Wilson, 2025, they re -signed him. And
3:10
then Sauce Gardner in 2025. Times are changing,
3:13
which is true. But I feel like the Jets overpaid
3:16
Sauce. And let me explain why. Sauce last season
3:19
didn't play his best ball. And so in my mind,
3:23
I would have thought Sauce would have taken a
3:25
little bit less just to say, hey, I'm still that
3:28
guy. Let me just prove it to you guys. Instead
3:30
of just saying, hey, we're going to reset the
3:33
market for you. If the Jets would have made him
3:35
top five or top 10 highest paid corners, I would
3:38
have no problem with that because he's still
3:40
a top five, the top 10 corner, depending on who
3:43
you ask in the conversations and whatnot. But
3:46
to reset the market for Sauce, it's a little
3:50
bit of a head scratcher, honestly. Because on
3:52
one hand, yes, Sauce Garner is a really good
3:55
player and he's probably their best corner since
3:58
Darrell Rivas. But on the other hand, resetting
4:02
the market is... To me, resetting the market
4:05
means you've been balling out since coming into
4:08
the league compared to, you know, you may have
4:12
probably two good seasons out of three or, you
4:16
know, three seasons out of four or whatever the
4:17
case may be. And now we're just, you know, we're
4:20
only talking about resetting the market. That's
4:23
where we get things a little bit tricky. But
4:25
congratulations to Sauce. Now let's talk about
4:27
somebody else that got paid. All right. So Trey
4:30
Smith. Guard for the Chiefs inks a four -year
4:33
$94 million deal, $70 million guaranteed, and
4:36
he'll be making $23 .5 million a year. So this
4:40
was expected. We all knew that the Chiefs had
4:43
until four o 'clock yesterday afternoon to finalize
4:46
a long -term deal with Trey Smith. Otherwise,
4:48
he was going to play on the franchise tag. And
4:51
there was a moment in time where the Chiefs were
4:53
skeptical on if they were going to be able to
4:55
get that deal done, but they were able to hash
4:56
it out. And so congratulations to Trey Smith.
4:59
Now, the question is, are the chiefs going to
5:02
start contract negotiations with Trent McDuffie?
5:04
Because that's another person that they need
5:07
to take care of. And the question is, with Sauce
5:10
Gardner getting his deal yesterday, does that
5:13
make Trent McDuffie want to be top five highest
5:16
paid, top three highest paid, reset the market?
5:18
What exactly is the magical number for Trent
5:21
McDuffie? only time will tell but let's talk
5:24
about another jet that inked a deal and that
5:26
is garrett wilson who inked a four -year 130
5:29
million dollar deal 90 million guaranteed he
5:32
gets a 13 .75 million dollar signing bonus and
5:36
he'll be making 32 .5 million a year which is
5:39
a little bit of a head scratcher because at first
5:41
I thought Garrett Wilson was just going to just
5:43
play out the rest of his deal and hit free agency
5:45
or better yet, just take a short -term deal so
5:48
he can hit free agency while he's still in his
5:50
prime. But clearly that's not the case. Garrett
5:53
Wilson has a lot of upside to his game. And if
5:56
the Jets find stability at quarterback, it's
5:58
to the moon. Garrett Wilson could possibly be
6:01
in the same conversation as... you know, an A
6:04
.J. Brown, a Justin Jefferson, Jamar Chase type
6:07
of receiver because he has that skill set. You
6:11
were talking about somebody who, and I had to
6:13
look this up and it was actually crazy. He's
6:15
one of five receivers in NFL history that have
6:18
80 plus receptions, 1 ,000 plus receiving yards
6:21
in each of his first three seasons. The other
6:24
receivers, Jamar Chase, Justin Jefferson, Michael
6:28
Thomas, and OBJ. That's a pretty good class to
6:31
be in. But let's go a little bit deeper into
6:33
this extension. So according to Reception Perception,
6:36
Garrett Wilson's success rate against zone coverage
6:39
is 82 .4%. His success rate against man coverage
6:43
is 77 .6%. His success rate against press coverage
6:48
is 78 .6%. So you're talking about somebody that
6:53
is pretty good when it comes to man zone and
6:56
press coverage. Not to mention, when you look
6:59
at his success... by routes you're talking about
7:03
somebody that that has a 94 .7 success rate at
7:07
flat routes you're talking about somebody that
7:09
has almost a 90 success rate in a lot of the
7:13
routes so why wouldn't the jets want to pay him
7:17
the way that they paid him not to mention the
7:20
deal doesn't kick in until the 2026 season But
7:24
let's keep talking about wide receiver, okay?
7:26
So Jawan Jennings, wide receiver for the 49ers,
7:28
has informed the team that he is looking for
7:30
a new deal or he wants out. So he's in the final
7:33
year of his deal, making $7 .5 million this season.
7:36
And according to SpotRack, his market value is
7:38
two years, $20 million, which is $10 million
7:40
a year. Now here's the crazy thing about it.
7:44
His stats this past season, although to some
7:47
they may not be the best, is still very productive.
7:50
He had 113 targets for 77 receptions, 975 receiving
7:54
yards, 6 touchdowns, and 12 .7 receiving yards
7:57
per reception. But here's a junkie nugget. According
8:00
to the 33rd team, among players who ran 200 plus
8:04
routes, Jawan Jennings ranked in the top 20 in
8:07
yards per route run and in total EPA on targets.
8:10
Folks, you're talking about somebody that is
8:12
a very productive wide receiver two, wide receiver
8:14
three on a lot of teams. And the 49ers realize
8:17
that they need Jawan Jennings because there's
8:20
no other option at wide receiver. We still don't
8:23
know the timeline of Brandon Ayewick. Ricky Pearsall
8:25
is still trying to get used to everything. There's
8:28
no other options available other than Jawan Jennings.
8:31
What sense does it make giving Brock Purdy all
8:34
that money if he doesn't have a receiver to throw
8:36
to? Now, the question is this, and this is for
8:38
any receiver and this is for any player. What's
8:41
the magical number? Now, my number for Jawan
8:44
Jennings is probably between 15 to maybe 20 million
8:47
a year. Now, with the 20, that's with incentives.
8:51
But base salary, as far as guarantees and whatnot,
8:54
is between 15 to maybe 18 million a year. He's
8:57
not a wide receiver one. He's a wide receiver
9:00
two slash three on a lot of teams. But if you're
9:03
the 49ers ownership, you're probably starting
9:06
to get a little bit tired of this because how
9:08
many off seasons have we seen the 49ers once
9:11
again being the headlines of somebody who's looking
9:14
for a new deal? Go from Trent Williams, Brandon
9:17
Ayewick, Christian McCaffrey, Nick Bosa, Fred
9:20
Warner. Everybody's looking for deals and everyone's
9:23
getting paid. But here's the thing though, nobody's
9:26
holding up a Lombardi trophy. Nobody's going
9:28
to the Super Bowl. So if I'm ownership, I may
9:32
be a little reluctant on giving Jawan Jennings
9:34
a deal because why? I don't roll this person
9:37
a check, that person a check, that person a check,
9:40
that person a check, and I haven't gone anywhere.
9:43
I haven't held up a Lombardi trophy because that's
9:47
what it's about. So at some point, the line has
9:50
to be drawn in the sand. I think John Lynch in
9:53
the front office will try to start up negotiations
9:56
with Jawan Jennings. And if they feel like his
9:59
number is a little bit too big, then they'll
10:01
probably ship him off. And then they'll probably
10:02
target a wide receiver when he gets to cut down
10:05
time at the training camp. Because there is a
10:07
potential that we can see a lot of receivers
10:09
getting moved once we get down to trimming down
10:12
the rosters. Keyshawn Boutier, Jalen Pohl, Javon
10:16
Baker, Dontavion Wicks, Romeo Dobbs. There could
10:20
be a lot of young receivers that they could possibly
10:22
get. Or you can make a big move and you can go
10:25
after someone like a Terry McLaurin. You know,
10:27
just saying. Which, speaking of Terry McLaurin,
10:30
we need to talk about this situation, okay? So
10:32
Terry McLaurin was able to speak to the media
10:34
after shooting a commercial with Eastern Motors.
10:36
If you know, you know. I'm not going to get into
10:37
that because it might get copyright struck. He
10:40
basically voiced his displeasure on how things
10:42
are going between him and the commanders. And
10:44
let's just get into everything. So here are some
10:47
of the talking points from this situation. So
10:49
Terry McLaurin has said both sides haven't talked
10:51
in a month. He's undecided on if he'll report
10:54
to camp, but we'll see what happens. He's frustrated
10:57
and disappointed on how negotiations are going
11:00
and doesn't know the outcome. He wants the commanders
11:02
to let him know that if he's a part of the future
11:05
or not. He's also said that Jaden Daniels has
11:08
voiced his support during this entire process.
11:11
But here are some of the quotes from that media
11:14
session. And I quote, It's obviously the compensation,
11:18
but it's kind of like the confusion. All year,
11:21
you feel like you're a part of something. You
11:23
earn the right to be a captain. When you have
11:26
that type of production, when you know how people
11:29
value you and see you and have told you to your
11:32
face, and then you see how it's progressing until
11:35
this point, that's very disappointing. I'm just
11:38
trying to get some clarity. Shoot it to me straight,
11:41
end quote. He also goes on to say this, end quote.
11:44
I guess you can say there is no point of return.
11:47
I don't think it's at that point now, but time
11:50
is kind of ticking, end quote. He also says this,
11:54
end quote. When things were adverse, when there
11:57
was a lot of chaos going on, I held firm. I held
12:00
strong. I held my head high and I was a leader.
12:03
I'm going to continue to do that, end quote.
12:05
He also goes on to say this, end quote. With
12:08
how the market is today, it conveys what guys
12:11
of my caliber are deserving of. I feel I fit
12:14
in that box because of how I've carried myself
12:16
on and off the field. I don't want to feel like
12:19
you have to beg for someone to see your worth
12:21
and value. Everything in previous regimes and
12:23
now I've done everything asked of me, end quote.
12:26
While I understand this is a new regime change
12:28
and the front is different, so their vision may
12:31
be different, their approach to contracts are
12:33
different. I get all of that, but this is a no
12:36
brainer. If he wants 30 million, give him 30
12:38
million. Better yet, I'll give you two extra
12:41
million just to show you of how much I love and
12:44
appreciate you as a person. Because Terry McLaurin
12:48
deserves that. Let's be real here, folks. The
12:51
last deal that he signed, that was a cheap deal.
12:54
He took a team -friendly deal. Now he's looking
12:56
for a re -up. He's looking for a real deal. So
13:00
it's only right that you give him what he deserves.
13:03
If you paid Terry McLaurin between what DK Metcalf
13:07
and Garrett Wilson got, Who's complaining? Because
13:10
by the time Terry McLaurin's deal is over with,
13:13
guess what? It'll be almost time for you to pay
13:15
Jaden Daniels or somebody else. So it's only
13:19
right that you take care of Terry McLaurin. It's
13:22
not going to hurt the team. It's actually going
13:24
to benefit the team because what you're doing
13:26
is playing a dangerous game, not only with the
13:28
players, but with the fan base. Not to mention
13:31
you're playing a dangerous game in the development
13:33
of Jaden Daniels. Why wouldn't you want to pay
13:36
his number one weapon? It's ludicrous. You've
13:39
made all of these moves in the offseason to better
13:42
this team, but the one thing that you need to
13:45
do, you haven't done yet. What's the problem?
13:48
Please tell me what's the problem. Now, see,
13:50
here's the thing. If Terry McLaurin's asking
13:53
price was a little bit too high, if it was in
13:55
the range of what Justin Jefferson and Jamar
13:58
Chase was making, okay, fine. I have no problem
14:00
with that. You have every right to say no. But
14:04
if it's 30, 32, maybe 33 at best, Who's complaining?
14:09
No one. You give him the deal. He shows up. Everyone's
14:13
happy. No problems. Now that we've talked about
14:16
contracts and whatnot for now, because we still
14:19
have some other things we have to talk about
14:20
with contracts. Let's talk about the Players
14:21
Association. So we all know about the whole collusion
14:25
case. I talked about it in the previous episode.
14:27
If you guys haven't listened to it, please go
14:28
ahead and listen to it. Also, listen to Pablo
14:31
Torres's. episode as well, because he did a more
14:35
deeper dive into the entire collusion case as
14:38
well. So this is what the NFLPA had to say about
14:43
the calls for the resignation of Executive Director
14:46
Lloyd Howe, and I quote, As members of the NFLPA
14:49
Executive Committee, we categorically reject
14:52
false reports insinuating doubts within this
14:55
committee or suggestions that we have asked our
14:58
Executive Director to step down. We further reject
15:01
attempts to miscategorize the committee's views
15:03
or divide our membership. We have established
15:06
a deliberate process to carefully assess the
15:09
issues that have been raised and will not engage
15:11
in a rush to judgment. We believe in and remain
15:14
committed to working with our executive director
15:17
and other members of the NFLPA staff and player
15:20
leadership who have a shared mission to advance
15:22
the best interests of players. As we approach
15:24
the 2025 season, we look forward to continuing
15:27
our important work together and ensuring the
15:29
strength and unity of our association. If this
15:33
ain't a load of shit, I don't know what is. I'm
15:35
going to be really honest with you because there
15:37
is no way under God's green earth that you as
15:40
an executive director and the NFLPA staff can
15:44
allow someone like lord howell to continue to
15:48
represent the players association when literally
15:51
in this collusion case it shows his inability
15:54
to execute his job not to mention the way that
15:59
he was able to acquire said job is also controversial
16:03
in itself why would you want someone like that
16:07
representing the players association why would
16:10
you want somebody who clearly is not for the
16:13
players. He's for the corporation, which is the
16:16
NFL. May I remind you, folks, if you guys haven't
16:20
looked this up, Lloyd Howell was a part of one
16:23
of the biggest scams in U .S. history with Booz
16:28
Allen. I'm not going to go in depth with it because
16:31
if I do, that'll be another 20 to 35 minutes.
16:34
I'm not going to do that. If you want to, go
16:36
on Google, type in his name, and then type in
16:40
Booz Allen. It's going to tell you the entire
16:41
story. Why would you want someone like that representing
16:45
the Players Association? No. Absolutely, positively,
16:50
hell no. And if I'm a player, I'm raising some
16:56
sand about this because why? This collusion case...
17:00
On top of this statement shows that the Players
17:03
Association is not for the player. Instead, it
17:06
is for the owners, it is for the league, and
17:09
it is for the Shield. And that's not how this
17:11
is supposed to work. The Players Union is supposed
17:15
to be the thorn in the league's side. They are
17:19
supposed to be the people that continues to just
17:22
nag at them every single chance that they get.
17:26
Every time. But we don't have that right now.
17:30
Instead, what we have is two people that say,
17:33
hey, we really don't like each other, but in
17:36
actuality, you guys are doing business with each
17:38
other. On top of that, if you guys didn't listen
17:41
to the previous episode when I talk about the
17:43
collusion case, there's also something that I
17:45
want to add in as well. Lloyd Howell is a part
17:48
-time consultant for the Car -L Group, which
17:51
is an NFL -approved private equity firm that
17:54
is seeking minority ownership within NFL franchises.
17:59
Conflict of interest? Somebody that clearly is
18:03
for the league instead of the players? Oh, but
18:07
wait. There's more. And you were a part of the
18:13
group who said, you know what? We can't let this
18:15
case get out to the players. We are going to
18:17
hide this. Let's agree, NFL, to hide this from
18:21
the players so they don't know exactly what we
18:24
just did. Folks, if I'm a player... If I'm someone
18:28
like a Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson or Russell
18:31
Wilson, hell, if I'm any of the players that
18:33
were involved in this collusion case, I am blowing
18:36
this up. I'm name dropping because it's not right
18:40
that you have somebody in a position of power
18:43
such as Lloyd Howell who is not in favor for
18:46
the players, but instead is in favor for the
18:49
league and the owners. At some point, someone's
18:54
going to have to man up and talk about this.
18:57
At some point, significant change is going to
18:59
have to occur. Otherwise, people like Lloyd Howell
19:02
are going to continue to stay in power. People
19:05
like J .C. Tretter, yeah, J .C. Tretter, that
19:08
J .C. Tretter, the one that played for the Browns,
19:10
the one that put Lloyd Howell in position because
19:13
y 'all was trying to look out for each other.
19:15
That's what that is. You scratch your back, I
19:19
scratch yours. You look out for me, I look out
19:21
for you. And this is where we are. And if I'm
19:24
a player, especially a player of power, I'm raising
19:28
sand. I'm raising sand every chance I get. Every
19:31
time somebody wants to ask me a question, I'm
19:34
bringing it up because you know why? It needs
19:36
to be known. The players need to know exactly
19:40
what's going on because this is going to have
19:42
future ramifications on future contracts. Look
19:47
at the next batch of quarterbacks that are going
19:49
to be looking for money. You don't think these
19:51
teams are going to do the same thing that they
19:53
just finished doing to Russell Wilson, Kyler
19:55
Murray, and Lamar Jackson? Please. No matter
20:00
how many handshakes they give you, no matter
20:02
how many times they ask, oh yeah, how's mom?
20:05
How's your family? How's your grandma? How's
20:07
things going? Guess what? Remember this case.
20:10
Remember this collusion case. Remember that the
20:14
league and the owners came together and said,
20:16
you know what? We are going to do everything
20:18
in our power. to prevent players from getting
20:21
large guarantees. Oh, by the way, we're doing
20:24
this in a period of time where the NFL is making
20:27
so much money that we just want to keep it for
20:30
ourselves. But you know what? We have no need
20:33
to talk about that, you know? We have no need
20:35
to talk about that because we got some other
20:37
things that we have to talk about, and that is
20:38
this whole, well, you know what, better yet?
20:42
Yeah, I'm going to say the TJ Watt thing later
20:45
on. We have to talk about the rookie deals real
20:48
quick. A lot of people are wondering what's going
20:51
on with the second round rookies. And I finally
20:54
got some clarification about it. So all the second
20:57
round rookies are now looking for fully guaranteed
20:59
contracts. And this is all thanks to the Texans.
21:03
So the Texans gave Jaden Higgins the first fully
21:06
guaranteed contract as a second round pick. And
21:09
so in doing so, the Browns followed suit and
21:13
they gave their second round pick, Carson Swearinger,
21:16
as a fully guaranteed contract as well. Now,
21:19
Trey Harris, excuse me, wide receiver for the
21:22
Chargers, he's officially holding out because
21:25
he wants the same thing as well. So at some point,
21:29
league offices are going to have to give in.
21:31
You're just going to have to give second round
21:33
picks fully guaranteed contracts. That's just
21:35
what it is. We knew at some point this was going
21:38
to happen, and it finally happened. Now, this
21:42
is probably the wrong time for this to happen
21:44
because you have the whole collusion case happening
21:47
and you have the after effects with that and
21:50
now you got this. So, a lot of stuff going on.
21:52
But do I think there's going to be some resolution
21:55
anytime soon? No. Do I think this could possibly
21:58
get pretty ugly? Yes. Because if you only have
22:03
two second round picks that have signed their
22:07
deals, and nobody else has signed their contract,
22:10
that's not good. If you're a fan, you can't really
22:12
be mad at the players. You have to be in some
22:15
ways mad at the agents because the agents are
22:18
telling them, hey, don't step on the field until
22:21
you have a fully guaranteed contract. Are they
22:23
wrong? No. But again, this goes back to the previous
22:27
episode that I put out about the whole Kalooza
22:29
case and guaranteed contracts. At some point,
22:32
players are going to have to get fully guaranteed
22:34
contracts. That's just what it is. You play a
22:38
very brutal sport and you deserve a fully guaranteed
22:41
contract. Now, the way it's structured varies,
22:45
but there is a way that teams can have a fully
22:50
guaranteed contract for players. And that should
22:54
be an option that should be readily available
22:56
for anybody if they want to take that route.
22:59
But y 'all don't want to hear me talk about that.
23:02
Y 'all don't want to hear me talk about that.
23:04
But I know what y 'all want me to talk about,
23:06
and that is T .J. Watt, okay? Yeah. Steelers
23:11
fans, you're going to hate me today. But guess
23:13
what? I love each and every one of you. So according
23:16
to Andrew Filippone, Pat McAfee Steelers insider
23:21
Mark Caboli says the Steelers have inquired around
23:23
the league to see what T .J. Watt's trade value
23:26
is, called it, and I quote, doing their due diligence,
23:29
end quote. That's a big change in the T .J. Watt
23:32
discussion from a big -time Steelers insider.
23:34
That's what Filippone put out not too long ago.
23:37
Then 24 hours later, Mark Carbole puts this out.
23:42
He says Steelers are still in a holding pattern
23:44
with T .J. Watt's contract extension, length
23:46
of deal, guarantees, and total value. Basically,
23:49
everything, to some varying degrees, are the
23:52
sticky points right now. Even so, there is no
23:54
anticipation for Watt to hold out when camp starts
23:57
on July 23rd, and there has been no inquiries
23:59
made to other teams about trading him according
24:01
to sources. Basically, these are how high -profile
24:05
and big -money deals go. Seems like it could
24:08
go down the same wires it did in 2021. Now, according
24:12
to Nick Faribault from the Sports Breakdown podcast
24:15
via PennLive, shout out to him, He said the same
24:18
thing, which is year three guarantees and contract
24:21
leave. Here's the thing. Okay. If I'm the Steelers,
24:26
I'm trading away T .J. Watt. And I'm just going
24:29
to be very honest with you. This team is nowhere
24:33
competitive. This team has not shown that it
24:36
is going in the right direction. And there are
24:39
too many question marks on this team. It's time
24:44
for you to give TJ Watt a better opportunity.
24:47
If you aren't willing to break out of the mold
24:51
that you've been in for the past, I don't know,
24:54
10, 15 or 20 some years for a star player, a
24:59
game changer, a person that stats show that if
25:04
you don't have him on the field, you are going
25:06
to lose more games than win. Then what are we
25:10
doing? See, it's one thing if this was just a
25:13
normal pass rusher who he's had, you know, two
25:16
really good years and, you know, he's feeling
25:19
himself and whatnot. Okay, fine. You can put
25:23
your feet in the sand. But y 'all know TJ Watt
25:27
took a discount with the last deal. So it's only
25:30
right that you do right by him this deal. Not
25:34
to mention, let me put a little bookmark in that
25:37
because we have to go back to the whole Kaboli
25:40
thing. We all know Marco Boli got a phone call.
25:43
Because, see, ain't nobody finna just put out
25:46
a tweet in 24 hours that says something contradicting
25:49
to what they originally said. No. The Steelers
25:53
are shopping around T .J. Watt. They're asking
25:56
different teams, hey, if we made T .J. Watt open,
25:59
what's the asking price? What would you be willing
26:02
to give up to get someone like a T .J. Watt?
26:04
And they probably didn't like their response.
26:07
And so they went back into, you know, contract
26:10
negotiations. On top of that, they don't want
26:12
something like that to get out because if that
26:14
happens, that could potentially mess up any progress
26:17
that's been made between T .J. Watt and the Steelers
26:21
right now. See, I know there's going to be people
26:25
that's going to be thinking, well, you got your
26:26
tinfoil hat on and you're probably, you know,
26:28
in a dark basement, in a dark room with no light
26:31
on, you know, thinking about these conspiracy
26:33
theories. No, I'm just putting two and two together.
26:35
December comes around. Guess where they're going?
26:40
Cancun, Turks and Caicos, Paris, London, Japan,
26:47
Canada, Brazil, Cape Town. You know, vacation.
26:54
See, here's the thing, okay? Last season showed
26:58
us a lot. That gauntlet specifically showed that
27:02
this team still can't go toe -to -toe with the
27:04
Chiefs or the Ravens. or even the Eagles. So
27:08
if I'm TJ Watt, if I'm getting up in age, if
27:12
I want to win a championship, and I know that
27:15
this team is not in no capacity of winning a
27:19
championship within the next three years, I got
27:22
to go. I got to bust a move because I want to
27:26
win a championship. And if I'm TJ Watt, I would
27:29
say, you know what, Omar, I'm going to make it
27:31
easy on you. Trade me. Because there's no need
27:35
in me staying on this team and continuing to
27:38
buy into this foolishness that every single year
27:41
they find a way to build it up with Steelers
27:44
fans and the media thinking that, oh, the Steelers
27:47
are legitimate contenders when they're really
27:48
not. They're actually pretenders. There's no
27:51
need to do it. Think about this for a second
27:53
here, folks. Next year, they're going to have
27:56
to draft a quarterback. Okay, cool. And on top
27:59
of that. You'll probably have to get some weapons
28:01
and you may have other things that you have to
28:03
talk about, which we will talk about when we
28:05
get to gut check time. If you're TJ Watt, you
28:08
understand that rookie quarterbacks don't win
28:10
the Super Bowl. So then that's another year that
28:13
you're going to have to wait. Who wants to keep
28:16
on waiting? See, here is the number one thing.
28:20
Here's the secret sauce for all the teams right
28:24
now that are Super Bowl contenders. You want
28:26
to know the one thing that they all have in common?
28:29
They hit on their drafts. That's the number one
28:32
thing that's been keeping the Steelers from being
28:35
ultra competitive right now. They haven't been
28:38
hitting on their draft picks. That's the reason
28:41
why Kevin Colbert and those Steelers in the early
28:43
2000s were super successful. Because you know
28:46
why? Year after year, what was Kevin Colbert
28:49
doing? Hitting on his draft picks. Not just his
28:53
first and second round picks, but his third,
28:56
fourth, fifth, sixth. Seventh round picks. And
28:59
so when you hit on those picks, that mitigates
29:02
the cost in trying to get somebody via free agency
29:05
or in the trade. But now this team has gone through
29:10
a stretch since 2017 because we all know that
29:14
TJ Watt is the last first rounder to get a second
29:17
contract with this team. Since then, Terrell
29:20
Edmonds, Devin Bush, Kenny Pickett, who else
29:23
you want to go? Possibly Broderick Jones. That's
29:27
almost four people, four first -rounders that
29:31
didn't get a second contract with the Steelers.
29:36
That pushes you back a lot. That affects you
29:39
a lot in your decision -making moving forward,
29:41
not to mention the mishandling of Kenny Pickett
29:45
by not firing Matt Canada after that first season,
29:49
instead of keeping him. That also pushed the
29:52
team back. A lot of moves that have been made
29:54
for the Steelers have pushed them back instead
29:57
of pushed them forward. So if I'm TJ Watt, send
30:01
me to the Eagles. Send me to the Lions, 49ers,
30:04
you know, teams that are actually competitive.
30:06
Not a team that just shouts from the mountaintop,
30:09
oh, yeah, we're super competitive. Oh, yeah,
30:11
this is going to be our year. It's a Super Bowl
30:14
mentality. That's all that it is. No, it's not.
30:17
No, it's not. But you know what? You know what
30:19
time it is? It's gut check time, folks, all right?
30:21
Let's talk about gut check time because this
30:24
one's going to be a little bit different, okay?
30:27
Instead of us doing the normal one that we used
30:29
to do during the regular season, we're going
30:30
to do something a little bit different. This
30:31
one is for the training camp, okay? So I decided
30:34
to break this down like this. So we're going
30:37
to talk about positional battles to watch out
30:39
for, players to keep an eye out for, the storyline
30:41
for the team, and possible free agency additions.
30:45
So let's just get into it. AFC North, all right?
30:48
So with the Ravens, the positional battles that
30:50
I'm looking out for are guard, cornerback, and
30:53
not specifically cornerback one, quarterback
30:56
two, quarterback three, or quarterback four,
30:57
but, you know, quarterback five and quarterback
31:00
six, edge, and inside linebacker. Now, here are
31:04
the players that I want to keep an eye out for.
31:06
David Ajabo, Daniel Falele, TJ Tampa, Octavius
31:10
Robinson, Adiza Isaac, and Ben Cleland. Now,
31:14
there's probably a few more, but those are the
31:16
main ones that I really have my eye on. So let's
31:19
start with David DiGiabo. The Ravens have been
31:22
very lenient with David DiGiabo. They're trying
31:24
to give him a chance because we all know that
31:27
coming out of Michigan that year, he was slated
31:29
to be a first round pick. And then he got injured.
31:33
I think he routine drill and he just fell off.
31:38
And so the Ravens are trying to, you know, find
31:41
a way they can tap into that potential that he
31:43
had when he was coming out of Michigan. So far,
31:45
that's been unsuccessful. And he's on the outside
31:48
looking in for for for pass rusher. And so if
31:52
I'm David Ajabo, you got to be spectacular not
31:56
only in training camp, but also in preseason.
31:58
You have to give the Ravens a reason not to cut
32:02
you, because right now it's looking likely that
32:05
you may not make this team. Same thing with Daniel
32:08
Felele. They've tried you in different positions
32:11
and you haven't been successful in them. Why?
32:13
I don't know. So can you blame the coaching?
32:18
I don't think so because everybody else is catching
32:20
along with it. So what exactly is causing Daniel
32:23
Felele to not progress like how he's supposed
32:26
to progress? Now, I'm not saying he has to take
32:28
this ginormous leap and become an all pro this
32:31
season. No, but if you are a league average to
32:34
a league above average guard. Who's complaining?
32:37
No one. But you have yet to show anything, and
32:40
that's important. TJ Tampa, you're on the outside
32:44
looking in, especially with the move with Jair
32:46
Alexander. You're definitely on the outside looking
32:49
in. So you have to be spectacular on special
32:51
teams, spectacular in training camp, and in the
32:54
preseason. If not, most likely they're probably
32:58
going to move on from you. Tavius Robinson, I
33:02
see the potential. But he has to put it together.
33:08
The pass rusher group is somewhat already established.
33:12
I mean, you have Adafio Way, you have Kyle Benoit,
33:15
you have Mike Green, the Green Machine, and you
33:18
have a few other pass rushers as well. And so
33:20
if I'm Tavius Robinson, I have to have a spectacular
33:24
training camp. See, that's the number one thing
33:27
with all of these players. You have to be spectacular
33:30
in training camp and in the preseason. See, that's
33:34
the number one thing that messes up a lot of
33:36
players, right? In training camp, you could be
33:38
having like, you know, three or four really good
33:41
practices. And, you know, everybody's talking
33:43
very high about you. But when the preseason comes,
33:46
you just fold. You're like a deer in headlights.
33:49
Can't be like that. Adiza Isaac, it's the same
33:51
thing that I said about Tavius Robertson and
33:53
David Ajabo. Ben Cleveland, it's time for you
33:56
to step up. It's time for you to show that you
33:59
belong to this team. Otherwise, guess what's
34:02
going to happen? The Ravens are going to get
34:03
a free agent guard. And I can already tell you
34:06
right now who they'll probably get. It'll probably
34:08
be Brandon Sheriff. But I'm going to save that,
34:11
okay? Now for the storyline for the Ravens right
34:14
now, prepare for battle. Because this is a make
34:17
it or break it year for the Ravens. It's time
34:20
out for the excuses. It's time out for, well,
34:22
we didn't do this and we didn't execute this.
34:25
And how we did this, we would have made it here.
34:27
We would have made it there. Would have, could
34:28
have, should have. Nobody cares about that. It's
34:31
either you make it to the Super Bowl this year
34:32
or just blow it up because you've invested far
34:35
too much into this team on both sides of the
34:38
ball. And you guys haven't made at least to one
34:41
Super Bowl. I'm not saying winning, but just
34:43
making it to the Super Bowl would mean a lot.
34:47
That would say, hey. All the moves that we've
34:49
made, it was worth it. But if you don't make
34:52
it to the Super Bowl, it was a waste. Every single
34:56
move from going after Roquan Smith and Jair Alexander
34:59
and getting this person, getting that person,
35:02
getting this veteran, getting that veteran. It
35:04
was all a waste. Because why? You're right back
35:08
where you are for the past few years. Losing.
35:10
And you don't want that. Now when we look at
35:12
possible free agency additions. especially for
35:14
guard, you know, you have Brandon Scherf, which
35:17
I think is a really good option, and I think
35:18
he probably would want to go to the Ravens. You
35:20
have Shaq Mason, Willie Hernandez, John Feliciano,
35:25
Cody Whitehair, Dalton Reisner, Mark Glanowski.
35:29
You have varying options for guard. I mean, do
35:32
you bring in somebody to possibly push Daniel
35:35
Folele? Do you probably try to let him see how
35:38
things go? What exactly are you going to do?
35:41
Because if I'm Eric DaCosta at this point, The
35:44
gloves are off. We can no longer continue to
35:47
play patty cake with our players. Either you're
35:50
on the train or you're not. And if you're not,
35:53
we're going to bring somebody in. They're going
35:55
to take your job. Simple as that. Because right
35:58
now, the Ravens Super Bowl window is closing.
36:01
And every single year that you make it to the
36:03
Super Bowl, every single year that you don't
36:05
win a Super Bowl is a wasted year. Let's continue.
36:09
Edge. You have Von Miller, you have Matthew Judon,
36:12
you have Preston and Z'Darrius Smith, you have
36:14
Jadavion Clowney, Demarcus Walker, Kaiser White,
36:17
and John Kaminsky. Now, here's the thing. Jadavion
36:20
Clowney, I feel like, is a very interesting signing
36:23
because he's had history playing with the Ravens,
36:25
and he actually played really well with the Ravens.
36:28
That's how he was able to get the deal with the
36:30
Panthers. I think if the edge position doesn't
36:33
look that well, probably by the second or third
36:36
week of training camp, I'll call Jadavion Clowney.
36:39
Because, again, it's time to start winning. Inside
36:45
linebacker. See, here's the thing with inside
36:51
linebacker, okay? And this has nothing to do
36:54
with Roquan Smith. This has to do with transition.
36:57
Because right now, Teddy Buchanan can take his
37:00
job. Teddy Buchanan looked really well in minicamp
37:04
and in OTAs. Trent Simpson, your head is on the
37:09
swivel. So whatever you need to do, do it. Because
37:15
right now, somebody could possibly take your
37:17
job. But if the Ravens want to take a veteran
37:20
approach, they can go after someone like a Jawan
37:22
Bentley, Devondre Campbell, which I don't think
37:25
that will happen. If you know, you know. Eric
37:28
Hendricks and Neville Hewitt, just to name a
37:30
few. So all in all... The Ravens are still in
37:34
a really good position. I don't want to take
37:36
that away from the Ravens. They're still in a
37:38
really good position. They're still competitive.
37:39
They are still a Super Bowl team. But the time
37:42
for excuses is over. You have everything at your
37:46
disposal, especially with the move that they
37:48
made to get Jair Alexander. Oh, there's definitely
37:51
no excuses. If the Ravens don't win this year,
37:54
oh, that's it. That's it. Start calling for people's
37:57
jobs. Start calling for people to get traded.
37:59
All that and more. Because it's time to start
38:02
winning. I'm going to beat the dead horse until
38:05
the horse is no more. Until the horse is sprouting
38:08
up flowers. It's time to start winning. Now let's
38:12
get to the Browns. There are positional battles
38:14
I'm looking out for. Quarterback, running back,
38:16
wide receiver, edge, and left tackle. Players
38:19
that I'm keeping an eye on. Deontay Johnson,
38:21
DeJuan Jones, Kenny Pickett, Dylan Gabriel, Shador
38:23
Sanders, and Dylan Sampson. Their storyline.
38:27
Who's backing Flacco? Now, before we get to the
38:30
storyline, let's get to the players, okay? So,
38:32
Deontay Johnson, for starters, you're on a vet
38:35
minimum. You make one crucial mistake, they can
38:39
cut you. DeJuan Jones, it's a little bit tricky
38:44
with him because if I'm not mistaken, he's coming
38:46
off of injuries. So, for one, you want to see
38:49
what condition he's in. But two, you want to
38:53
see if he can take that next step to being better
38:55
than what he was last season. Yeah, that offensive
39:02
line is not looking pretty good right now. And
39:05
it also doesn't help that Jedrick Willis has
39:07
already said that he's not playing this season
39:09
so that he can get healthy for next season, which
39:11
I completely understand. But man, if I'm the
39:15
Browns, I would probably try to find a way to
39:18
get at least like a swing tackle or something
39:20
as an insurance policy. Can you pick it? You're
39:23
on the outside looking in, brother. Right now,
39:27
I would venture to say the Browns are probably
39:29
going to roll with Shador and Dylan Gabriel and
39:31
Joe Flacco before giving you a chance. Now, granted,
39:34
by some accounts, people will consider you as
39:37
a veteran. But right now, you really haven't
39:40
shown anything in your career for one reason
39:44
or the next. But I'm a little bit skeptical with
39:47
Kenny Pickett right now. Dylan Gabriel. You're
39:51
on the fence as well. Same thing with Shador
39:54
Sanders. It's basically who's going to be quarterback
39:58
two, quarterback three at this point. It's basically
40:00
anybody's spot right now. Dylan Sampson, I want
40:05
to see exactly what you're going to do, especially
40:07
with this whole Quinn Sean Jenkins situation.
40:10
This is now your opportunity to possibly get
40:13
the starting running back role. So what exactly
40:17
are you going to do? How are you going to respond
40:19
with this opportunity is my question. Now for
40:23
the storyline, who's backing Flacco? Like I just
40:25
said, because right now no one's going to be
40:28
focused on any other position than quarterback
40:29
because that's the position that they invested
40:32
the most into. They literally drafted two quarterbacks
40:35
in one draft. So everyone's going to be focused
40:38
on Shador as well as Dylan Gabriel, but I think
40:41
they're going to be more focused on Shador, especially
40:43
if the Browns give him an opportunity to start
40:47
in one of these preseason games. Oh, man. Everybody
40:51
is going to be talking about it. Now, when we
40:53
look at free agency additions, especially for
40:56
running back, they have options. Jamal Williams,
40:58
Gus Edwards, Jeff Wilson, Naheem Hines, Amir
41:01
Abdullah, Chase Edmonds, and Ernest Johnson.
41:04
That could be, you know, that could be an option
41:06
as well because he did used to play for the Browns
41:08
at one point. For edge, as I already said before,
41:12
with the Ravens, Von Miller, Matthew Judon, Preston
41:14
Anza, Darius Smith, Jadavion Clowney, Demarcus
41:17
Walker, Kaiser White, and John Kaminsky. Left
41:20
tackle, there really isn't any options available.
41:23
Sure, you could probably go with the swing tackle
41:25
route, but even then, it's really not the best.
41:30
Wide receiver, you have Keenan Allen, Amara Cooper,
41:33
Gabe Davis, Nelson Aguilar, DJ Chark, Tyler Boyd,
41:37
Chris Conley, and Jamison Crowder, just to name
41:39
a few. So when it comes to players to look out
41:42
for, I would say Jermaine Burton and Miles Murphy
41:44
for right now. I was trying to find a few others,
41:47
but really didn't have the best success. But
41:50
the storyline for the Bengals, I would say, is
41:52
who on the defense will step up? Especially with
41:55
everything going on with Shamara Stewart and
41:57
Trey Hendrickson. who on the defense is going
42:00
to step up? Because right now, the Bengals' defense
42:03
needs to move. Neither one of those pass rushers
42:06
are going to be on the team this season. Pardon
42:08
the interruption, but this is your GM, your bag
42:10
road dominance, here to talk about RSS .com,
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43:32
Now back to the good stuff. Defensively, this
43:35
team right now could literally cause the Bengals
43:38
to not make it to the playoffs. I understand
43:40
that they have Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase and
43:43
Tee Higgins and they invest a lot of money into
43:45
them and I understand they have Micah Secchi
43:47
as well, but the fact of the matter is if you
43:49
don't have a defense, You're not going anywhere.
43:52
You're not making it to the AFC championship,
43:54
let alone to the second round of the playoffs.
43:58
So I don't know if the Bengals have to go and
44:00
get somebody in free agency. I don't know if
44:03
they have to try to find a way to, you know,
44:05
resolve things between Trey Hendrickson and Shamar
44:08
Stewart. But if I'm the front office. I would
44:11
rather to have resolution between both pass rushers,
44:15
but if I can't get that, then I'd rather go with
44:17
Trey Hendrickson over Shamar Stewart because
44:20
it looks like to me that Shamar Stewart is probably
44:22
going to go back to college or find another way
44:25
to just not be with the Bengals. Right now, if
44:29
you're the Bengals, you have a lot to do within
44:33
training camp. You have a lot of observations
44:35
and a lot of tough decisions that you're going
44:37
to have to make from the top down. And when we
44:40
look at possible free agency additions, I just
44:44
put safety in here just to, you know, just to
44:46
have something to talk about. I mean, you have
44:47
Marcus Williams, Justin Simmons, Jordan Whitehead,
44:50
Julian Blackman, Quandre Diggs, Chuck Clark,
44:53
just name a few. Edge rushers, you have Von Miller,
44:56
Matthew Judon, Preston, Anza Darius -Smith. Jadeveon
44:59
Clowney, Demarcus Walker, Kyzer White, John Kaminsky,
45:02
as I said before, wide receiver, of course, Keenan
45:05
Allen, Amar Cooper, Gabe Davis, Nelson Aguilar,
45:07
DJ Char, Tyler Boyd, Chris Conley, Jameson Crowder.
45:10
Now, I just want to preface this. When I meant
45:13
receiver, I mean wide receiver three, if I'm
45:17
not mistaken, because Jermaine Burton, I don't
45:20
know what's going on with him, but he needs help,
45:23
okay? You continue to just get into trouble.
45:28
And I just don't understand why. Like, you're
45:32
a very talented receiver. You showed a lot at
45:35
Alabama. So I don't know what's going on. I don't
45:38
know if you need a new change of scenery, whatever
45:40
it is. Get it done. Because, bro, just stop.
45:45
There's only so many times a team is going to
45:48
give you a chance. Once you've run out of chances,
45:51
that's it. Now let's get to the Steelers because
45:55
this one is a little bit of a longer segment,
45:58
okay? So positional battles, wide receiver, guard,
46:02
tackle, defensive line, and safety, all right?
46:05
So players to keep your eye out for, Isaiah Loudermilk,
46:07
DeMarvin Liao, Daniel Aquale, Roderick Jones,
46:11
Corey Trice, Beanie Bishop, Mason McCormick,
46:13
Roman Wilson, Cole Holcomb, Logan Lee, and Dean
46:15
Lowry, okay? So let's start with Isaiah Loudermilk.
46:19
Well, specifically the defensive line. So the
46:22
interior defensive line is packed. You have Derek
46:26
Harmon, you have Y .A. Black, you have Daniel
46:28
Aquale. You have a lot of defensive linemen.
46:32
And not everyone's going to make the roster.
46:34
So the question is, who's going to do it? Who's
46:38
on the outside looking in? We already know Derek
46:40
Harmon is safe. We know most likely Y .A. Black
46:43
is possibly safe as well. So if I'm Isaiah Loudermilk,
46:47
I got to ball out. If I'm DeMarvin Lee out, I
46:50
got a ball out. If I'm Dean Lowry, you're probably
46:56
not going to make the roster. But if you can
46:59
at least put out some good tape for that, you
47:01
know, for maybe another team to possibly pick
47:04
you up, you know, that's an option as well. But
47:06
this is a very packed defensive line room. And
47:09
I just want to see how things are going to go.
47:11
We do know that the Steelers. This season are
47:15
definitely emphasizing bolstering of the defensive
47:17
line, and that has to do in part to, you know,
47:20
the beatdown that they took from the Ravens when
47:22
Derrick Henry almost ran for, you know, 300 rushing
47:25
yards. But DeMarvin Leal, his situation is very
47:30
unique because coming out of college, he was
47:33
a tweener. So I know, like, the Steelers used
47:37
him as a pass rusher in the interior defensive
47:40
line. Then, you know, edge rusher again. They've
47:44
just moved him everywhere, and it really hasn't
47:46
helped him out. So if you're DeMarvin Leal, I
47:50
guess the only thing you can do is try to put
47:52
out good tape. Because if you can't beat Jeremiah
47:55
Moon, I don't know what to tell you. Daniel Akwale,
47:58
same thing with Isaiah Loudermilk. Broderick
48:01
Jones, we can talk about Broderick Jones a little
48:03
bit. He has to show up. He has to step up. He
48:08
has to take a significant step forward. They're
48:11
not going to bring him back. And then that's
48:13
going to set back the team another year. Because
48:15
why? That's another first round pick that has
48:18
yet to show anything. Corey Trice, you're on
48:21
the outside looking in, brother. The problem
48:24
with Corey Trice is that he can't stay healthy.
48:26
If he just stayed healthy just a little bit,
48:29
I think he could have a legitimate chance to
48:33
make this team. But because his injury problems
48:37
have just been plaguing him since coming into
48:39
the league, you're on the fence. Now, Beanie
48:42
Bishop, this one's a little bit more controversial.
48:45
Here's why. Me personally, I wouldn't cut Beanie
48:49
Bishop just because of how well he played last
48:51
season. You're talking about somebody that had
48:53
four picks last season. He got two off of Aaron
48:58
Rodgers in one game. So I don't understand why
49:02
people are just automatically discounting Beanie
49:05
Bishop. But me personally, I feel like the slot
49:09
position. Should definitely go to Beanie Bishop
49:11
for right now. Granted, I understand he's at
49:14
a disadvantage because of his size, but he can't
49:16
control that. But the things he can control,
49:19
he tries to put his best into it. Mason McCormick,
49:22
sure, you had a pretty decent season last year.
49:25
Let's see if you can do that again. Roman Wilson,
49:28
it's prove it time with you. Same thing with
49:31
Cole Holcomb. It's prove it time. It's time to
49:33
show that you deserve to be on this team, especially
49:36
Roman Wilson. Right now, the wide receiver position
49:39
is open for you. So whatever you need to do,
49:44
do it. Because right now, if you don't, the Steelers
49:47
are going to either get Gabe Davis or try to
49:49
make a move. Just saying. Cole Holcomb, yes,
49:53
you took a pay cut, but I mean, again, you're
49:56
on the outside looking in because you haven't
49:58
played ball in over, what, two seasons, if I'm
50:01
not mistaken? Dean Lowry, I really don't expect
50:04
for him to make the roster, but... You know,
50:06
I've seen crazier things. The storyline for the
50:10
Steelers is what's the identity of this team?
50:12
And here's why. And this may turn into something
50:16
bigger, but, you know, I really don't care. Everyone
50:21
from the outside looking in is saying the same
50:23
thing about the Steelers. They're all in. They're
50:27
focused on winning a Super Bowl. They're going
50:29
to make a deep run in the playoffs this year.
50:31
I don't see it. There are too many question marks
50:35
on both sides of the ball to say that this team
50:38
is all in. You have Broderick Jones as a question
50:43
mark. You have Corey Trice, Joey Porter Jr.,
50:48
Darnell Washington, Patrick Queen, Keanu Benton.
50:54
You have a lot of players that have question
50:57
marks. And if they don't take a significant step
51:01
forward, That's going to push the team back.
51:04
And some of those players are getting ready to
51:07
enter into contract years. If I'm the Steelers,
51:10
this is a make it or break season, not just for
51:14
the players, but also for the coaching staff.
51:17
Because let's be real here, folks. If this team
51:20
doesn't progress or at least show that they're
51:23
headed in the right direction, Pat Meyer is going
51:25
to be without a job. T .A. is going to be out.
51:29
Who else? There's going to be significant changes
51:33
if this team doesn't show anything this year.
51:36
Because what's the identity? I understand that
51:39
they want to play Steelers football and they
51:42
want to, you know, run the ball down your throat
51:45
and be physical at the line of scrimmage and
51:48
impose their will against their opponents. But
51:51
every single time that they go up against true
51:53
competition, they fold. And see, that is why,
51:56
and I forgot to talk about this with the whole
51:58
TJ Watt thing, but that's exactly why I was very
52:00
critical about Omar Khan getting his extension
52:03
before TJ Watt getting extension. And I talked
52:06
about it on the TikTok, footballjunkiespod, by
52:09
the way. What does it look like that you as a
52:11
GM get an extension before your star player?
52:15
See, it's one thing if the team is heading in
52:18
the right direction and a lot of the question
52:20
marks on the team have already been answered.
52:23
Things are good. But that's not the case. Your
52:26
first round picks are still question marks. A
52:29
lot of your picks so far have been question marks.
52:32
Granted, you've done an okay job. You've done
52:36
what most GMs are supposed to do. And I understand
52:39
that you inherited a bad situation. You had to
52:41
clean up the books and you had to let a lot of
52:43
people go and whatnot. I get all that. But still,
52:46
this team has not made a significant leap to
52:49
say, hey, we're in a better direction under your
52:53
direction. So what sense does it make that, hey,
52:56
I'm going to take care of myself before I take
52:57
care of my star player? The star player who,
53:00
by the way, statistics show that if he's not
53:03
on the field, we're going to lose 60 % to 70
53:08
% of our games. That's selfish. And if I'm Art
53:12
Rooney, if I'm Mike Tomlin, I would say, oh,
53:15
what you doing there, play? Uh -uh, uh -uh, uh
53:18
-uh. You don't get an extension until... 90 gets
53:22
an extension. Then we can start talking about
53:25
you. Or better yet, I would have just waited
53:27
until the next offseason. That way you can observe
53:31
and say, hey, listen, we don't know if we're
53:33
going to keep him. We might move off of him.
53:36
We may extend him. We may trade him. We may do
53:39
something with him. Because right now there's
53:41
too many question marks on this team. I'm sorry.
53:43
Oh, and by the way, I just want to let it be
53:45
known for all the people that said that Broderick
53:48
Jones was going to be a good pick. Hey, guess
53:49
what? Told you so. Broderick Jones, and I know
53:53
I'm just skipping everywhere, but I just had
53:56
to get this stuff off my chest, okay? Broderick
53:59
Jones, unless he becomes, I don't know, average
54:03
to above average, it was a waste of a pick. Whereas
54:07
you could have had someone in Christian Gonzalez
54:09
who is way better, way more established, and
54:14
he would have addressed the need that, guess
54:17
what? You haven't really addressed successfully
54:19
in a very long time. But you know what you want
54:23
to do? You want to go with somebody just because
54:25
you like the look. You like the potential. Really
54:28
think about this here, folks. If you can't beat
54:31
Dan Moore, who was probably a league average
54:34
to possibly above league average left tackle,
54:38
and you're supposed to be more athletic than
54:41
him and just a better left tackle prospect than
54:44
him, and you can't beat him to take his job within
54:47
the first probably two years? Come on now. What
54:50
are we talking about? Just have to put that out
54:52
there. Another storyline I think we have to talk
54:55
about with the Steelers is what version of Aaron
54:56
Rodgers are they going to get? Because although
55:00
Aaron Rodgers says that he's all in, he's repping
55:03
the Steelers, he's wearing the apparel and whatnot,
55:05
I don't believe that. I just don't see it personally.
55:10
But what version are they going to get? Are they
55:12
going to get someone that's going to be willing
55:13
to listen? Or are they going to get somebody
55:16
that was throwing his own teammates under the
55:19
bus and complaining about the offensive scheme
55:22
and the play calling and whatnot? What version
55:24
are the Steelers going to get with Aaron Rodgers?
55:27
That's the number one question I want to know.
55:30
And let's talk about the NFC North, all right?
55:32
So this one should be fairly easy, okay? So for
55:35
the Lions, their positional battles to look out
55:37
for is guard, cornerback, and edge. Players to
55:40
keep an eye out for, Tate Rattledge, Christian
55:42
Mahogany, and Marcus Davenport, just to name
55:45
a few. So with them, we know that one of their
55:50
guards unexpectedly retired this offseason. So,
55:53
of course, they've had to elevate. And now Christian
55:55
Mahogany, if I'm not mistaken, is now the left
55:58
guard. And Tate Rattledge is the right guard.
56:00
So I just want to see how things are going to
56:03
work, especially for Tate Rattledge because he's
56:04
a rookie. You know, this is sort of like, you
56:07
know, just throwing him into the fire. Marcus
56:09
Davenport, I want to see exactly, is he going
56:11
to take another step forward? Is he going to,
56:14
you know, solidify his role at edge? What exactly
56:17
is going to happen? But the storyline for the
56:20
Lions is what's the identity of this team? And
56:22
let me explain why. So normally when you lose
56:27
coordinators, you will lose one, you know, one
56:30
offseason and you lose another one. probably
56:33
like two or three years later, but they lost
56:35
both their offensive and defensive coordinators
56:38
in one offseason. Not to mention, they also lost
56:43
the people that were under the offense and defensive
56:46
coordinators as well. So you've had a lot of
56:49
changeover when it comes to the coaching staff,
56:51
and all you've really done is just elevated a
56:54
lot of people that are already on the staff currently.
56:57
So I want to know exactly what's going to be
56:59
the identity for this offense. as well as this
57:02
defense. Because I feel like that's very important
57:04
right now because they're in a very important
57:07
window and they have to, and I mean have to,
57:11
make it to the Super Bowl. If they don't make
57:15
it to the Super Bowl, every move that they've
57:17
made so far was a waste. And then we're going
57:20
to have legitimate questions about Jared Goff
57:22
moving forward. Now we'll look at, you know,
57:25
possible free agency additions. Sure, you have
57:27
guard. You know, we've already went over Brandon
57:30
Sheriff, Shaq Mason, Willie Hernandez, cornerback.
57:33
You know, you have James Bradbury, Kendall Fuller,
57:36
Stephon Gilmore, Rasul Douglas, Mike Hilton,
57:38
C .J. Henderson, Michael Davis, Asante Samuel
57:41
Jr., Emmanuel Mosley. If I'm not mistaken, he
57:43
used to play for the Lions. Edge, you have Von
57:46
Miller, Matt Judon, Preston Anzidarius Smith,
57:49
Jadavion Clowney, Demarcus Walker, Kaiser White.
57:52
You know, people have already said before. So
57:54
I just want to see exactly. How things are going
57:57
to go with the Lions. I knew I was forgetting
57:59
something. Let me backtrack. So for the Steelers,
58:03
for the possible free agency additions, especially
58:05
for safety, you have Marcus Williams, Justin
58:08
Simmons, Jordan Whitehead, Julian Blackman, Quandre
58:10
Diggs, Chuck Clark, Gar, we've already gone over.
58:13
Wide receiver, we've already gone over. Defensive
58:16
line, if they decide to take that route, if they
58:19
decide to trade away some people, you have Raekwon
58:21
Davis, Austin Johnson, Linbal Joseph, Taylor
58:23
Bryant, Maurice Hurst. Uh, tackle, if you want
58:26
to bring in competition for Broderick and maybe
58:28
Troy Fatano, you have, uh, George Fant, Andreas
58:31
Peet, Isaiah Wynn, Michael Dunn, Raven Clark,
58:34
Chris Hubbard, and Jermaine, uh, Fetty. Okay.
58:36
Now moving forward, let's go to the bears. Okay.
58:39
So their positional battles to watch out for
58:41
safety and left tackle, uh, specifically Kevin
58:44
Byard, the third and Braxton Jones. So the storylines
58:48
for the, for the bears is can, can Ben Johnson
58:50
unlock Caleb Williams? We all know that Caleb
58:53
Williams had a disastrous rookie season. And
58:56
so can Ben Johnson unlock something in Caleb
59:00
Williams that can elevate his play even more?
59:04
I mean, look, they've made investments into the
59:07
offensive line. They made investments into the
59:09
receiving core again and tight end and running
59:12
back as well. They've done a lot. And so. We're
59:17
starting to hit that point where, hey, is Caleb
59:19
Williams legit? Is he not? What exactly is Caleb
59:22
Williams at this point? And when we look at possible
59:25
free agency additions, you know, with safety,
59:27
you have Marcus Williams, Justin Simmons, Jordan
59:30
Whitehead, Julian Blackman, Quandre Diggs, Chuck
59:32
Clark. Tackle, as I've said before, you have
59:35
George Fant, Andreas Peet, Isaiah Wynn, Michael
59:37
Dunn, LaRaven Clark, Chris Hubbard, Jermaine
59:40
Effetti. Because Braxton Jones right now. I think
59:44
you need to bring in some competition. I think
59:46
you need to see what you have in them. And if
59:50
you're not satisfied with that, well, then you
59:52
already know the next draft, you're probably
59:54
gonna have to draft a left tackle high or you're
59:57
probably gonna have to get one in free agency
59:59
or however you do it. But the time for excuses
1:00:03
for this team is starting to run out. The clock
1:00:06
is ticking now if you're the Bears. Now let's
1:00:10
get to the Packers, okay? So their positional
1:00:12
battles, wide receiver, interior offensive line.
1:00:15
I know, we'll talk about it. So players to keep
1:00:18
an eye out for, Romeo Dodge, Dontavion Wicks,
1:00:21
Elton Jenkins, Sean Ryan, and Isaiah Simmons.
1:00:25
So the reason why I have wide receiver is because
1:00:29
they've made a lot of investments into wide receiver
1:00:31
this off season, okay? They drafted Matthew Golden
1:00:34
and Savion Williams. So the question is this.
1:00:38
Are they going to transition Savion Williams
1:00:40
into someone of like a Cordell Patterson type
1:00:43
of role? How are things going to go? Because
1:00:46
remember, Christian Watson is still out. So you're
1:00:50
going to have Matthew Golden, Don Tavian Wiggs,
1:00:52
Romeo Dobbs, and I think who else, who else,
1:00:56
who else? McCole Harmon and a few other receivers.
1:00:58
So the receiver room is packed. So at least two
1:01:02
or three people are probably going to be moved.
1:01:04
The question is who? Do I think it's probably
1:01:08
going to be Romeo Dobbs? There's a possibility.
1:01:10
Do I think Dontavia Wiggs could possibly move?
1:01:13
That's a possibility as well. All options are
1:01:15
on the table for wide receiver. Now, Elton Jenkins.
1:01:19
I only put him up there because I know like previously,
1:01:23
like in the early parts of the offseason, there
1:01:26
was like some discourse between between him and
1:01:28
the organization because, you know, they wanted
1:01:30
him to move in and play at center. But then he's
1:01:33
like, hey, if I move in the center, then you
1:01:35
have to pay me as a center. And I don't know
1:01:39
what's going on at this point, but he's definitely
1:01:42
a name to keep your eye on. Just because, you
1:01:45
know, there's a chance he may stay at guard or
1:01:48
they may pay him as a center and then he transitions
1:01:51
to center. Only time will tell. Isaiah Simmons,
1:01:54
I want to see exactly what can you do. I understand
1:01:57
you were a high first round pick. You know, you
1:02:00
were super athletic and, you know, you could
1:02:02
play, you know, anywhere on the field. But so
1:02:04
far, you've only really been good at special
1:02:07
teams and, you know, the few times that you've
1:02:09
played a middle linebacker. So I just want to
1:02:11
see exactly. How are the Packers going to use
1:02:14
you? But the storyline for the Packers this training
1:02:18
camp is, can the Packers take the next step to
1:02:22
becoming legitimate contenders? Folks, the Packers
1:02:26
are a really good team. They have a really good
1:02:28
roster and a really competitive division. And
1:02:32
they have a really good quarterback in Jordan
1:02:33
Love. But the question is, what do they need
1:02:37
to do to take that next step? Is it an acquisition
1:02:40
of a player? Is it coaching? Is it a change?
1:02:44
What exactly do they need to do? Because I think
1:02:48
this Packers team can make a deep run in the
1:02:50
playoffs. But it all depends on what they do
1:02:55
now. And when we look at possible free agency
1:02:58
additions, I just put this up there just for
1:03:00
conversation. You know, if they decide to move
1:03:04
Elton Jenkins in and the backup who's going to
1:03:07
be the starting. The starting guard is not good.
1:03:10
You know, you can bring in someone like a Brandon
1:03:12
Sheriff, Shaq Mason, Willie Hernandez, John Feliciano,
1:03:16
Cody Whitehair, Dalton Reisner, you know, just
1:03:18
to name a few. Wide receiver, I don't think they're
1:03:20
going to bring in anybody. I think they're going
1:03:22
to subtract, then add. Because remember, they
1:03:25
drafted Matthew Golden in the first round and
1:03:28
then Savion Williams in the second or third round,
1:03:30
if I'm not mistaken. So only time will tell with
1:03:33
them, all right? Now let's get to the Vikings,
1:03:35
all right? So the only positional battle that
1:03:38
I had with them was corner. And it was specifically
1:03:41
nickel corner, if I'm not mistaken. So the players
1:03:45
to keep an eye out for were Jeff Okuda, Isaiah
1:03:48
Rogers, and Makai Blackman. So here's the thing.
1:03:52
This Vikings team is loaded. But nickel is a
1:03:55
little bit of a sore spot for them. And you have
1:03:58
people like Jeff Okuda, Isaiah Rogers, and Makai
1:04:01
Blackman that are all going to be competing for
1:04:03
that role. Now, do I think Isaiah Rogers could
1:04:06
possibly win it? It's a possibility. But I think
1:04:09
if you're Jeff Okuda or Makai Blackman, you're
1:04:11
on the outside looking in right now, especially
1:04:13
someone like a Jeff Okuda. I want to know what
1:04:17
exactly the Vikings are going to do with this.
1:04:20
Are they going to try to let this play out and
1:04:22
then make a decision there? Or are they going
1:04:25
to bring in someone like a Stephon Gilmore who,
1:04:27
you know, he played last season with them and,
1:04:29
you know, that secondary was actually pretty
1:04:31
good. Because let's be real here, folks. This
1:04:34
Vikings team, their ceiling is very high. Okay,
1:04:39
am I saying they can make it to the Super Bowl?
1:04:41
No. But do I think they can make some noise?
1:04:44
For sure. Now, the original storyline that I
1:04:48
had was, how is J .J. McCarthy going to look?
1:04:52
And the other one I had was, can they reclaim
1:04:55
the fire that they had last year? Because last
1:04:58
year, there was a point in time where the Vikings
1:05:00
were on fire, defensively and offensively. And
1:05:04
then I don't know what happened, but, like, Sam
1:05:07
Darnold didn't play his best ball. They started
1:05:10
to lose some games. And then next thing you know,
1:05:13
one thing leads to another. And, you know, they're
1:05:17
just not playing their best ball. So what exactly
1:05:21
do the Vikings need to do to reclaim that fire?
1:05:25
Now, am I saying J .J. McCarthy can take them
1:05:27
to the promised land? No, because technically
1:05:28
speaking, this is his rookie year. But I do think
1:05:33
he has the intangibles. I think he has the the
1:05:37
the weapons around him to be very successful.
1:05:41
But I think only time will tell. And I want to
1:05:42
look at, you know, possible free agency additions.
1:05:45
You have James Bradbury, Kendall Fuller, Stephon
1:05:48
Gilmore. If you want to bring him back, Russell
1:05:49
Douglas, Mike Hilton, C .J. Henderson, Michael
1:05:51
Davis, Asante Samuel Jr., Emmanuel Mosley, just
1:05:54
to name a few. So I want to keep my eye on the
1:05:58
Vikings. I want to keep my eye on probably the
1:06:01
Packers, Lions, Browns, Bengals, Ravens, Steelers.
1:06:06
I'll probably check in every once in a while,
1:06:08
but I'm a little bit turned off with the Steelers
1:06:11
right now. That's another story for another day,
1:06:15
but I'm going to end this episode here. If you
1:06:17
guys like what you are listening, please, please,
1:06:18
please, please, please make sure you guys download
1:06:20
the episodes, interact with the episodes. Um,
1:06:23
just do something with the episodes. Okay. Please.
1:06:25
It really helps, really helps out with the algorithm.
1:06:28
And that way we can give, you know, people that
1:06:31
are real football junkies, the fix that they
1:06:34
love and or need. Okay. So now for my audio listeners,
1:06:38
we are available on Spotify, Amazon, Apple music,
1:06:42
anywhere. everywhere that you can listen to podcasts,
1:06:45
okay? Make sure you guys leave a five -star review
1:06:48
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1:06:50
I would deeply appreciate that. Now, for my YouTube
1:06:53
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click on that link and if you sign up for rss
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1:07:16
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more advanced stats, and whatever else that we
1:07:23
can to make this podcast better for you guys,
1:07:25
all right? Now, for my TikTok people, Football
1:07:27
Junkies pod, all right? Football Junkies pod.
1:07:30
I got some clips that I gotta put out. I just
1:07:32
gotta edit them and then... I can just shoot
1:07:35
them out to you guys. I'll probably do that probably
1:07:36
towards the end of the week, maybe early next
1:07:39
week. Stay tuned for that. Now for my Instagram
1:07:42
people, football underscore junkies pod, right?
1:07:44
Football underscore junkies pod. Junkies pod
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is not what? It is together, not spaced, okay?
1:07:53
It is together. not space, football underscore
1:07:56
junkies pod, all right? You can follow me on
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Blue Sky, G -M -K -L -G -M -K -A -I -O -E, as
1:08:04
well as X, G -M -K -L -K -A -I -O -E, all right?
1:08:09
As always, I hope I gave you guys the fix that
1:08:11
you guys need. I love you guys. I appreciate
1:08:13
you guys so much. Stay tuned. We are going to
1:08:16
the South. That's right. NFC and AFC South. All
1:08:23
right. So stay tuned for that. That should be
1:08:24
coming out fairly soon. But this is your GM Kale
1:08:27
signing out. Peace and love. Later.